I have data on Win95 floppy disks I would like to access.

[DarkJedi]

Hello, I am a long time LTT YT viewer and just joined to get some advice about some laptop/data retrieval issues I've had that I really need to get worked out.

 

Please forgive me if this is not in the correct category/section.

 

I have a bunch of Win 95 floppy disks with who knows what on them. I know what some of it is, but not all of it. At the time I was using a Compaq Presario 1610 with Windows 95 on it, which I loved. Rang into some trouble power issues, and after securing a new power cord, I determined the battery is kaput. It will not increase in charge from 0%, regardless of how long it is plugged in. I can't remember what is actually on the laptop, but at some point the entire thing should be recycled. I would prefer no valuable info be left on it. I want to be responsible.

 

So, in seems finding  a suitable replacement battery for the laptop would simply bypass the majority of my issues. I have been unsuccessful in locating one online. Some possibilities led to roadblocks and dead ends. It has a USB port, so maybe using an USB drive to copy all the info from the computer is one option. This would allow me to then wipe off all info from the computer to allow me to recycle it.

 

Failing to locate a battery, then I need another means of accessing the floppy disks. This would indicate some type of USB external drive to plug into another device. This seems to lead to another problem as a Win10 laptop might not be able to fully read it correctly or I might just get jibberish, which I don't speak.

 

After the Compaq issue, I moved on to a Dell Latitude D630. I believe that was Windows 8. The wifi went out on it and I decided to move on to a newer and better laptop. The Dell still powers up as of the last time I used it. It also has info I could remove and then recycle it too. 

 

I went with a Toshiba, but every time it tried to update to Windows 10 the trackpad and other functions didn't work. After several Geek Squad visits, I eventually exchanged it for an Asus Sonicmaster X555L, which I have used since. No significant issues. I have purchased an inexpensive external CD drive to cut down on wear and tear of the internal CD drive.

 

So, here is what steps I need to figure out:

 

1) Locate replacement battery for Compaq Presario 1610, which goes a long way to eliminate the majority of issues.

 

Any advice on an online resource to locate a replacement battery would be appreciated.

 

2) Failing to secure a replacement battery, I need a means of accessing the 3.5 inch floppy disks and removing the info from them. I have seen various external devices, but my concern is being able to read the data. Some are compatible from Windows 95 to a point further down the line, but not up to Windows 10. Anything listed as Windows 10 only goes back so far. 
 

Is it possible to find one that can go from Windows 95 to Windows 8? At least I could *read* from the Compaq laptop to the Dell laptop. Then I could use USB sticks to copy the info.

 

Is there a one size fits all floppy disk reader that can safely cover from Windows 95 to Windows 10? Is there a method I am simply overlooking?

 

3) I know there are ways to remove the memory from the Compaq and then access it. I would have to research that to find the most secure and suitable method.

 

4) Providing I manage to work out these issues, do I then need to worry about formatting/being able to read it as I move up in operating systems? 

 

Will I need some special program that can take Windows 95 data and change it so that when viewed using Windows 10 there are no problems? Are there programs that will pull all personal files/data/info off of the device so it can be rendered safe to recycle?

 

 

Any guidance, assistance, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you...

 

 

[OhioYJ]

Why not just use a USB floppy drive?

[porina]

While I haven't tried it recently USB floppy drives worked fine at least up to Win10. It's just another external data storage device.

 

As for the battery, does it not power up with external power only? 

[TetraSky]

We use USB floppy drives with Windows 10 machines at my job for when we need to do backups/recoveries of super old machines running pre-2000 hardware/software. It works fine.

[Kilrah]

Yep, USB floppy drives cost $10-15 and work just fine on any Windows version. I'm using a couple of them regularly.

[Needfuldoer]

+1 to the USB floppy drive advice. No need to overcomplicate things.

 

You can always flip the write protect tab if you don't want Windows to inadvertently alter the disks.

[dkoudijs]

14 hours ago, Needfuldoer said:

+1 to the USB floppy drive advice. No need to overcomplicate things.

 

You can always flip the write protect tab if you don't want Windows to inadvertently alter the disks.

The write protection is a good idea, but yes I support the idea of the usb floppy drive adapter.

[DarkJedi]

So it sounds like my concerns about using a specific USB 3.5inch floppy disk reader were not as much of an issue as I thought.

 

I have seen this one on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RXEWOAA/?coliid=I705ARYFE2T36&colid=Z832A7C1AU5&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

or https://www.amazon.com/External-Floppy-Portable-Windows-Mac£¬General/dp/B07G444XKW/ref=sr_1_3?crid=27MVZN0W9BQPF&keywords=3.5in%2Bfloppy%2Bdisk%2Breader%2Bwindows%2B95&qid=1702377125&s=electronics&sprefix=3.5in%2Bfloppy%2Bdisk%2Breader%2Bwindows%2B95%2Celectronics%2C116&sr=1-3&th=1

 

So if I am understanding correctly, I should just be able to hook this up to my Asus with Windows 10 and access those floppy disks?

 

What about an online retailer for the Compaq Presario 1610 replacement battery?

 

Thanks for your help.

[Helly]

34 minutes ago, DarkJedi said:

What about an online retailer for the Compaq Presario 1610 replacement battery?

The problem with a replacement battery is that they are at best only a few years younger then the laptop itself. It's so old that any battery you find is likely to have the same problem.

As mentioned earlier, it is likely possible to just power it on with external power connected. If not, try removing the battery and connecting the external power. Might work.

 

Worst case, if you can't power it on, open it up and remove the HDD and wreck it manually with a hammer or something else, just go postal on it and the data will be unrecoverable. It's not like the laptop will be sold to anyone for actual use.

[Bad5ector]

The real question is... is the data still valid on the 3.5 diskettes? Even when they were in their prime, floppy disks were notorious for corruption.

[Kilrah]

1 hour ago, DarkJedi said:

So if I am understanding correctly, I should just be able to hook this up to my Asus with Windows 10 and access those floppy disks?

Yes.

 

 

1 hour ago, DarkJedi said:

What about an online retailer for the Compaq Presario 1610 replacement battery?

 

On 12/10/2023 at 12:31 PM, DarkJedi said:

I can't remember what is actually on the laptop, but at some point the entire thing should be recycled. I would prefer no valuable info be left on it.

I don't understand why you want to buy a battery for something you want to use just once to copy/erase the data on and then discard. Just run from AC?

[Kisai]

5 hours ago, DarkJedi said:

 

So if I am understanding correctly, I should just be able to hook this up to my Asus with Windows 10 and access those floppy disks?

 

You should be able to access floppies when they are plugged in as USB devices. There will be no issue, and even if there was, people would say "use linux" and just image the diskette.

 

If you are going to wipe a laptop, just eject the hard drive, most laptops the hard drive is just located behind an easily accessed panel, just like the battery. Recycle the laptop, and hold on to the hard drive if you want to recover any data from it (you'd need to find an adapter for the parallel ATA, if it's that old), or if you don't care about salvaging it, take it out side and drive over it, smash it with a hammer, physically fold it in half, etc.

 

Floppy diskettes, at least 3.5" ones, are usually not that reliable, so if you can't read it, then that's not the drive or OS's fault, that's the diskette losing it's magnetism. There are literately tools from that era for revitalizing disks by reading and writing every sector. 5.25" discs are worse in this regard since they flex like paper, so salvaging those are a crapshoot.